Our Emmy-Nomination Wish List

First-round voting to select the 2015 Emmy Awards nominations ends today. For those procrastinating members of the Television Academy who have not yet cast their ballots, we went through the more than 300 pages of names submitted for the performance categories so you wouldn’t have to. It’s a shame that there are only usually six nominees selected for the major acting categories because there were so many worthy performances this past season—as well as a lot of headscratching names submitted for consideration. (And seriously, can someone help us understand why NBC’s Hannibal wasn’t submitted for anything?)

While we’re pretty sure that most of the nominations will include traditional Emmy favorites (Jon Hamm, Kevin Spacey, Kerry Washington, Julianna Margulies, etc.) We encourage last-minute voters to break with tradition and mix things up a bit. Here are some of our favorite performers and performances from this past season, most of whom have never been nominated for an Emmy. And yes, we know we’ve left out quite a few nominate-able names, but we had to stop somewhere, so add your personal favs in the comments section.

Taraji P. Henson as Cookie in Empire (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series). Word of advice: don’t mess with Cookie, who’s out of jail and looking to claim her part of the empire. Just take a look at the clip below to understand Cookie and how good Henson is.

Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan and Tobias Menzies (for Outstanding Lead Actress/Actor/Supporting Actor In A Drama Series) for Outlander. The Starz show has everything: action, time travel, history and romance. Balfe’s and Heughan’s chemistry as Claire and Jamie crackles onscreen and Menzies as Black Jack Randall plays a sadistic SOB.

Clive Owen as Dr. John Thackery (Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series) for The Knick. Owen plays a talented doctor with a god complex and a cocaine addiction at New York City’s Knickerbocker hospital at the early part of the 20th century in this Cinemax show.

Jamie Dornan and Gillian Anderson (Outstanding Lead Actor/Actress In A Drama Series) in The Fall. The BBC show has proven that Jamie Dornan’s a talent to watch, despite his 50 Shades turn. And Anderson’s detective is a powerful woman who just doesn’t give a damn what people—particularly men—think about her.

Tatiana Maslany as Sarah, Alison, Cosima, Helena, Rachel and Krystal (Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series) for Orphan Black. So technically, if Maslany is playing six characters, couldn’t she fill up the entire category? We’re only half kidding—but to create several distinct personalities show after show is amazing to watch. She was snubbed last year, so here’s to hoping that she’s recognized this year.

Ilana Glazer as Ilana Wexler and Abbi Jacobson as Abbi Abrams (Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series) for Comedy Central’s Broad City. While they’re probably going to cancel each other’s votes out, here’s to hoping anyway. Besides, pegging!

While we’re talking about Comedy Central, we can’t forget Amy Schumer (Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series) for Inside Amy Schumer. Seriously, the “Last F**kable Day” is pure brilliance, and so is “Milk, Milk Lemonade.”

Ben Mendelsohn as Danny Rayburn (Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series) in Netflix’s Bloodline. As the most fucked up family member in a truly dysfunctional Rayburn family, Mendelsohn was a scene stealer, and that’s hard to do when you’re going up against a stellar ensemble cast that includes Kyle Chandler.

James Nesbitt and Frances O’Connor as Tony and Emily Hughes (Outstanding Lead Actor/Actress In A Drama Series) on Starz’s The Missing. In this harrowing drama about a child abduction, you watch as Tony’s and Emily’s marriage and lives crumble.

Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell (Outstanding Lead Actor/Actress In A Drama Series) in The Americans. They play two KGB spies in an arranged marriage who seem like the typical American couple. They’re amazing to watch in their double lives, and both actors were snubbed last year. Russell proves she’s more than Felicity in this show (and we loved her in that, too).

The Emmy nominations will be announced on July 16, and the awards will be televised on Sept. 20 on FOX.